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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · pitch · kid · track · lean · bass · press · capital

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. track — to keep track
  3. kid — child
  4. lean — thin
  5. capital — money
  6. track — a song
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. track — a path
  11. swing — music
  12. capital — a city
  13. pitch — completely
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. swing — to play on
  16. lean — to bend
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. kid — to tease
  23. press — to push
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com